Bridgestone Workers to Vote on Remuneration Scheme

At present Bridgestone and union officials are negotiating a proposed contract that could potentially see the pay of workers at a US Bridgestone plant become tied to their productivity. The new contract at the Bridgestone Firestone facility in La Vergne, Tennessee needs to be agreed upon by mid-August, and while Bridgestone officials claim that paying individual workers bonuses based on the number of tyres they produce will increase pay while making the company more profitable, the USW Local 1155, who represents the plant, has reservations about switching to this type of incentive system.

If plant workers vote in favour of the contract, the La Vergne facility will become the last remaining unionised Bridgestone tyre and inner tube plant in the US to switch to this system of remuneration. Workers and management were given 120 days to work out and vote upon an incentive plan, and while Bridgestone has made no concrete statements regarding job cuts if they do not vote in favour, company spokesman Dan McDonald said “if they don’t accept, it opens up the possibility of layoffs.”

Bridgestone officials are looking for a program that accommodates the production of a greater number of tyres in less time with the same number of workers. “In the end, we really believe that can be good for everybody, the company and our team members,” McDonald said, adding that the incentive program could lead to workers earning about 20 per cent more than at present. However opponents believe productivity incentives can sometimes lead to pay cuts depending on the manner in which the company opts to measure productivity, and concerns have been voiced that such incentives can cause employees to work in a way that could result in injuries.

Jim Buckley, a representative of USW Local 1155, said he did not expect the vote on incentives to be passed by those actively participating in the manufacture of tyres.